Sammy is Student of the Month!

Our Sammy was student of the week in November. She was not there when we made this poster, but we took it to her classroom the next morning. We are so proud of her. Sammy is a wonderful daughter.

Rebekah Turns 5!

How we love our girl! She is growing up so quick. We had a fabulous time at her birthday party. Special thanks to our friends and family who came. We appreciate your love and support more than you know.

Rebekah went shopping with Ma'amah at Build-A-Bear and got this bunny. She loves it! What a beautiful girl. If you look closely, you can see another member of the family peeking through the window. Love that Jadin!

The other kids came to model their Build-A-Bear's, too.

I love this picture of Rebekah and her Dad.

We made turkies out of applies for an activity. Rebekah and her cousin Rachel are such cute friends.
Princess Buttercup got a bike for her birthday. Very happy girl!

Halloween Parade

We saw the kids the next day at the elementary school Halloween Parade. They looked great!

Happy Halloween!!

On October 30th we had a dinner with Ma'amah, Mony and the kids. The Menu: Goblin Guts, Phantoms Liver, Eyeballs, Kiddie Fingers, Witches Brew and Ghosts in a Bog. It was a fabulous spook-filled evening.

Where is he?

This is the Brandow family version of Where's Waldo. I laughed so hard when I walked into our room and saw Lance sleeping all wrapped up like this.

Lance Turns 32

Lance's 32nd birthday was in October. We had the kids for the evening and it was a wonderful celebration. Joseph played a funny on Lance last year and blew out the candles before he did. This clip show Joey trying to do the same thing again.

A birthday is not a birthday in our home without some "heavy, heavy hang-over!"

Lance's Mom and Grandma gave him the sweetest cards. Joseph just snuggled into his Dad while he read. Very sweet.

My Kids

I LOVE my kids! I love everything about them. One of our most favorite things to do together is read. I treasure these moments.

Daddy Daughter Date

Yesterday Sammy and Lance attended their first Daddy Daughter Date. It was a 70's night full of peace signs, afro's and bell bottoms. They had a fabulous time.

Catch Up Continued

Here's another picture from the Martina McBride concert. My daughter was just precious! Dancing and bouncing and singing her lungs out. I loved it.

We celebrated Jadin's 8th birthday August 28th. He loves Captain Jack Sparrow and so we had a pirate birthday... treasure hunt and all.

Jadin was baptized August 30th. It was a wonderful day full of miracles. Special thanks to our family and friends for participating in this event with us.

Following Jadin's baptism, Lance and I went to Manti to celebrate our First Anniversary. We neglected to take any pictures; however, we did capture the actual day on film when we celebrated with our kids September 4th. Hard to believe a year has gone by.

Lance took the kids horseback riding today and they LOVED it!

Then, he and Jadin went on a fun adventure to watch motorcyclists and skateboarders do crazy stunts... It's a guy thing.

Catch Up

It's been some time since I posted. Lots has happened. Check out some of the fun!

We went on a Trek with our Stake the first week in June. Good times!

We celebrated Father's Day...

AND Joey's 6th Birthday June 16th.

We went to Lance's Family Reunion June 23rd.

We had the Brandow Family Barber Shop...

and met up with some of my wonderful mission companions.

Sammy and I went to see Martina Mcbride. Fabulous Concert! This One's for the Girls!!

Tag! Sets of Three

I got tagged by my dear friend, Cathy Hicken. Below are my answers:

Three Joys:
My kids - I love them!
Music - I love to listen to it, sing it, and play it!
My Husband - he is fabulous and so very sweet

Three Fears:
Bees!
Losing control of my life
The doctor

Three Goals:
Increased compassion for others
More diligent scripture study
Be on time to church

Three Current Obsessions:
Keeping my home clean
Making sure my kids look nice
Taking care of my yard

Three Random or Surprising Facts About Me:
I love the color green... lime green especially
Carrots taste like candy to me -- I often crave them
I am super sentimental... little things mean a lot

I tag Shannon and Jennifer

Memorial Day

I love Memorial Day. It is a holiday filled with sentimental value. This Memorial Day I got to take my new family with me to Logan. I was actually pretty emotional about the idea of actually bringing my own family to a place I have come once a year for as long as I can remember. Logan (Cache Valley) is the place my Dad's ancestors settled after coming from England. It is a beautiful spot filled with many historical sites relating to my family. My Dad has taught me about my ancestors and it was a privilege to have my kids learn about the great people that make up my family tree.

Sunday afternoon we met at the hotel and let the kids swim with their cousins. We picnicked at Willow Park that evening and played. Such fun! Grampa, Monka, Sammy and I mastered the Frisbee and the kids really enjoyed the Zoo.

We also took the kids to see the temple where Monka and Grandpa were married:

Monday morning we made an abbreviated round of the cemeteries. Unfortunately, the weather did not allow us to explore as we usually would, but it was still fun.

It turns out the log cabin my great, great, GREAT Grandfather built was still standing in Wellsville. They have now moved it to a beautiful little spot and allow families to reserve the area. We dropped by to see the cabin. The family that lived in this house had TEN children. Not sure how many of them lived there at one time... but no matter how you look at it, that is amazing!

During the drive home Lance climbed in the back seat to read to the kids. Some of them missed the story...
When we got back home, we went with Mony and Ma'mah to PaPa's grave (Lance's Grandfather). The kids refer to him as thier "Very Best Grandpa."

It was a great couple of days. How grateful we are for our heritage!